Figure Skating Thread

[rien]

Have you watched 'I, Tonya' and are looking for someone to talk to about it? Do you need to vent about your favorite skater not qualifying to the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships? Have you ever wondered how Froslass and Cryogonal can perform a triple axel despite having no skates nor legs? Are you as equally annoyed as I am that Game Freak made Triple Axel a 3-hit move and not 3.5?

Time to find out if I'm not the only one that cares! Discussion of all aspects of figure skating, ice dancing, and synchronized skating is welcome here, and I'd love to engage in conversations with other followers of the sport. Admittedly I'm more knowledgeable about ladies and men's singles than other competitive routines but I'm always willing to branch out and learn more.

The general Cong rules mostly cover everything so I'm not gonna elaborate on them too much, but please keep discussion civil and respectful. Competitive figure skating is a pretty volatile field when it comes to drama, especially when it comes to ladies figure skating. It's okay to discuss serious topics like allegations of abusive coaches and corrupt judges, as these are topics that naturally concern some of us, but please keep it civil and don't send any hate towards anyone involved, especially not to any of the skaters.

Useful/interesting links and videos:
International Skating Union website - provides info on upcoming international ISU-endorsed competitions.

International Skating Union YouTube page - airs livestreams of most ISU-endorsed competitions.

Channel One Russia YouTube page - their page is quite disorganized and basically impossible to navigate if like me you don't know any Russian, but they provide livestreams to all national Russian competitions (there are lots of these all the time), sometimes even with live English commentary.

Romsky, TheSkatingLesson, Paola Castillo, Skate Insider, Yuzutea, Single Loop, Koola King - a bunch of other cool skating-related YouTube channels that I found. Romsky is run by Roman Sadovsky, a Canadian male singles skater that produces vlogs and Q&A videos. TheSkatingLesson run a weekly podcast where they discuss current events and competitions, and they broadcast high-quality scans of historic competitions. Paola Castillo mostly provides commentary on Russian ladies singies, she's very funny and a joy to listen to. Skate Insider, Yuzutea, and Single Loop mainly provide technical analyses and compilations of jumps. Koola King is a Yuna Kim stan channel that hasn't uploaded anything in over two years but it's a great channel for those that like the drama genre and style of editing. She also did lots of technical analyses.

This is a bit more yellow as opposed to strictly informative, but I think it's a great introductory video to the current state of Russian ladies figure skating if you've ever heard the names Evgenia Medvedeva or Eteri Tutberidze and never understood what all the fuss is about.

Suggestions for future discussion points:
1. What got you into liking figure skating in the first place?
2. Have you ever had any experience with casual/competitive/professional figure skating? If so, at what age did you start? What's your proudest achievement?
3. Who are some of your favorite skaters and pairs? What are some of your favorite programs? Is there any active skater or pair that you're particularly excited for their career?
4. Notable historic events and controversies - What do you think about the Tonya Harding vs. Nancy Kerrigan rivalry and the events that proceeded? Do you think Adelina Sotnikova rightfully won the gold medal at Sochi 2014, or was Yuna Kim more deserving?
5. Current topics - what do you think about Team Tutberidze's domination in ladies figure skating? Do you think the quad revolution is the right direction for the future of ladies figure skating? Who do you think will make it to the podium at the next major upcoming competition (Olympics, Worlds, Grand Prix, etc.)? Do you think Nathan Chen can possibly dethrone Yuzuru Hanyu at Beijing 2022? Do you agree with the current ISU (International Skating Union) rules, guidelines, and judging methods, or would you like to see anything change?

 

[rien]

Going to start discussion (if there will be any, otherwise this will just be a platform for me to write essays kek) with my own post about programs that live rent-free in my brain:

Yuna Kim - Short Program - James Bond Medley (2009-2010 season)

^Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, 1st place in the SP, 1st place overall (gold medal)

The queen. This iconic short program showcases not only Yuna's better-than-textbook jumps but also her incredible musicality and stage presence. It's a rare combination that got her the Olympic gold in 2010 (and the Olympic gold silver in 2014) and cemented her reputation as one of the best female skaters of all time (she never finished any domestic or international competition off the podium!).

Jason Brown - Free Skate - Reel Around the Sun (2013-2014 season)

^2014 US Nationals, 1st place in the FS, 2nd place overall

Although he doesn't perform quad jumps often (at the time of this competition he wasn't able to land quads at all), James Brown consistently manages to get to the podium thanks to his incredible artistry and stage presence. I grew up on the Riverdance soundtrack and it brings me a lot of joy to see him embody the music so well.

Yuzuru Hanyu - Short Program - Chopin Ballade No. 1 (2017-2018 season)

^PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, 1st place in the SP, 1st place overall (gold medal)

Yuzuru Hanyu is widely regarded as one of the best male skaters of all time, and his PyeongChang short program is quite quintessential. Strong piano number with defined peaks and valleys, textbook technique, flawless jumps, and a deep connection to the music.

Jason Brown - Free Skate - Schindler's List soundtrack (2019-2020 season)

^2020 Four Continents, 2nd place in the FS, 2nd place overall

Another Jason Brown program that I love, where he displays incredible maturity by doing justice to an incredibly sentimental and emotional soundtrack. His presentation is unparalleled, and even though he wasn't able to land a planned quad jump here, it was enough to drive him to the second place, beating powerhouses like Jin Boyang and getting surpassed only by Yuzuru Hanyu, his training mate.

Mako Yamashita - Short Program - Una voce poco fa (2020-2021 season)

^2020 NHK Trophy, 3rd place in the SP, 5th place overall

A very whimsical and kooky short program where she displays incredible amounts of self-confidence right under the judges' nose. Initially not knowing what to expect from her, I smiled throughout the entire program as I watched it live.

Kaori Sakamoto - Free Skate - The Matrix soundtrack (2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons)

^2020 NHK Trophy, 1st place in the FS, 1st place overall

While she certainly has (uncalled by the judges in this skate) technical flaws in her lutz and flip jumps (e: wtf was i on her flip is gorgeous), she's an incredibly powerful skater with big jumps and great musicality. Especially notable here are her double axel-triple toeloop-double toeloop combo (3:15) and massive triple loop (4:25), both perfectly synchronized with the music.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva - Free Skate - Chronicles of a Mischievous Bird (2020-2021 season)

^2021 Russian Cup Final, 4th place in the FS, 4th place overall

Liza's story is one of perseverance. After winning Worlds, Europeans, and the Grand Prix Final in 2015, she struggled with growth spurts and was pushed aside to give the stage to a wave of younger Russian skaters that took her place at proceeding Olympics and world championships. This last weekend, at age 24, she defied all odds and finally secured her place at the 2021 worlds after getting the highest score of all senior ladies (the top three spots were all occupied by juniors who are ineligible to compete in Worlds). In an uber-competitive field where female skaters often retire before the age of 18, she showed that hard work, correct technique, and an unbreakable spirit pay dividends. Despite making a few silly errors in this incredible program, you can see just how happy she is to skate.

 

[Bughouse]

Going to start discussion (if there will be any, otherwise this will just be a platform for me to write essays kek) with my own post about programs that live rent-free in my brain:

Yuna Kim - Short Program - James Bond Medley (2009-2010 season)

^Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, 1st place in the SP, 1st place overall (gold medal)

The queen. This iconic short program showcases not only Yuna's better-than-textbook jumps but also her incredible musicality and stage presence. It's a rare combination that got her the Olympic gold in 2010 (and the Olympic gold silver in 2014) and cemented her reputation as one of the best female skaters of all time (she never finished any domestic or international competition off the podium!).

Jason Brown - Free Skate - Reel Around the Sun (2013-2014 season)

^2014 US Nationals, 1st place in the FS, 2nd place overall

Although he doesn't perform quad jumps often (at the time of this competition he wasn't able to land quads at all), James Brown consistently manages to get to the podium thanks to his incredible artistry and stage presence. I grew up on the Riverdance soundtrack and it brings me a lot of joy to see him embody the music so well.

Yuzuru Hanyu - Short Program - Chopin Ballade No. 1 (2017-2018 season)

^PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, 1st place in the SP, 1st place overall (gold medal)

Yuzuru Hanyu is widely regarded as one of the best male skaters of all time, and his PyeongChang short program is quite quintessential. Strong piano number with defined peaks and valleys, textbook technique, flawless jumps, and a deep connection to the music.

Jason Brown - Free Skate - Schindler's List soundtrack (2019-2020 season)

^2020 Four Continents, 2nd place in the FS, 2nd place overall

Another Jason Brown program that I love, where he displays incredible maturity by doing justice to an incredibly sentimental and emotional soundtrack. His presentation is unparalleled, and even though he wasn't able to land a planned quad jump here, it was enough to drive him to the second place, beating powerhouses like Jin Boyang and getting surpassed only by Yuzuru Hanyu, his training mate.

Mako Yamashita - Short Program - Una voce poco fa (2020-2021 season)

^2020 NHK Trophy, 3rd place in the SP, 5th place overall

A very whimsical and kooky short program where she displays incredible amounts of self-confidence right under the judges' nose. Initially not knowing what to expect from her, I smiled throughout the entire program as I watched it live.

Kaori Sakamoto - Free Skate - The Matrix soundtrack (2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons)

^2020 NHK Trophy, 1st place in the FS, 1st place overall

While she certainly has (uncalled by the judges in this skate) technical flaws in her lutz and flip jumps, she's an incredibly powerful skater with big jumps and great musicality. Especially notable here are her double axel-triple toeloop-double toeloop combo (3:15) and massive triple loop (4:25), both perfectly synchronized with the music.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva - Free Skate - Chronicles of a Mischievous Bird (2020-2021 season)

^2021 Russian Cup Final, 4th place in the FS, 4th place overall

Liza's story is one of perseverance. After winning Worlds, Europeans, and the Grand Prix Final in 2015, she struggled with growth spurts and was pushed aside to give the stage to a wave of younger Russian skaters that took her place at proceeding Olympics and world championships. This last weekend, at age 24, she defied all odds and finally secured her place at the 2021 worlds after getting the highest score of all senior ladies (the top three spots were all occupied by juniors who are ineligible to compete in Worlds). In an uber-competitive field where female skaters often retire before the age of 18, she showed that hard work, correct technique, and an unbreakable spirit pay dividends. Despite making a few silly errors in this incredible program, you can see just how happy she is to skate.

The first two in your list also live in my head rent free. FYI most of these videos are not viewable in the US however :(

Edit for some of my faves:

https://m.bilibili.com/video/av331169990
Apologies for weird link but for the US at least I couldn’t find a version on YouTube with audio. It’s Jason brown’s 2021 SP to sinnerman by Nina Simone.

PAIRS!!